Perspective

I was having a bad day today. The girls and I were headed out for a fun day of back to school shopping - one of my FAVORITE things to do! When we were pulling our of our driveway, Courtney rolled down the back window....and it got STUCK! Would NOT roll up! Dang it! So, we stayed put and waited to hear from our mechanic. I was ticked. My day was not going as planned!!! Then, I signed onto Facebook (which I do so often) and I saw a link that a friend of mine posted. It was to this blog for some friends of ours...and WHAM! Smacked in the face with the fact that this beautiful mother of two has cancer. Talk about putting your life into perspective. What a week it's been....

Prayers Needed!!!

A family in my ward, The Moore Family, lost their sweet little Addie in a car accident yesterday. She was 12 years old, and a very dear friend of Courtney's. Her little sister, Lydia, was also severly injured and is in a hospital in Utah. (That is where the accident happened.) Please pray for Lydia's recovery, and for the Moore Family. Such a tragedy....

I will miss her hugs.

This is Lydia with my friends, Ryan & Christi.

Addie & I at Girls Camp 3 weeks ago.

This was Addie's "Poker Face". The girl did nothing but laugh.

Rebekah, Courtney & Addie

Cousins

Courtney & Emmi - Day 47

Finally! A Storm!

We got a nice little storm here the other night. The only one so far this Monsoon Season. What's up with that? That's my favorite part of the summer....the storms!! Anyway, we all had fun running outside, trying to dodge the lightning and thunder. All the while, Hugh was doing yardwork. Why not? It wasn't 120 degrees, right?

Day 46

Windy!

Singing in the Rain!

Sunset during the storm....

This was the one time that day that they liked each other.

Ouch!

Courtney & Connor had to each have two teeth pulled. No big deal. They've done it before. Connor's were a piece of cake - took two minutes, tops. Courtney's on the other hand......Her teeth were not loose AT ALL. The roots were totally in tact. So, it took a bit longer to wiggle those suckers out! 10 minutes for the first tooth. Courtney was totally numbed, and very calm. But look at this whopper of a tooth that he got out! It looks like a cartoon tooth!! The second one he ended up splitting in half with the drill so it came out easier, but man alive! Have you ever seen a tooth like that??? Courtney was such a trooper though. She was sore for a few days, but nothing that some mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC couldn't fix.

Day 45

Day 44 - Babysitting Emmi

We were Emmi's First Official Babysitters. Kort wanted to take Amy to the movies, so we had Emmi for a few hours. I'm so in love with her.....

Day 44 - How comfy does this look??

Wicked

Day 43

We took the kids to see Wicked on July 16. It was amazing. The kids loved it. I think part of that was because they had been listening to the soundtrack for MONTHS and new the songs. And, I looked over at Hugh several times throughout the performance and saw him smiling. Can't beat that. It was a great night.

I Can Borrow, Right?

I didn't take any pictures on July 15 (Day 42), so I'm borrowing this from Courtney. This was taken after they had gone to bed. Apparently, "going to bed" does not mean "going to sleep".

While I Was Gone...

Caitlin has a strong desire to learn how to sew. But I can barely sew on a button properly. So, she enlisted the help of her Grandma Pam. Caitlin went to Grandma Pam's house with instructions on how to make a T-Shirt dress. Grandma had the fabric, the knowledge and the sewing machine. The surprise was that the sewing machine was actually a gift for Caitlin. Wow! So, I guess we need to get some classes lined for for Caitlin.....

Day 41

Sunday & Monday Girls' Camp

Sunday. Centennial Ward. Day 39 (cuz this is the only picture I took that day. LOL)

EARLY Monday morning at the Flag Pole.

SQUIRREL!!! I swear this little guys posed for this picture.

Thank you Dave Stubbs for sharing your ice cold Coke Zero with me. You saved my life.

The older girls gave Courtney a little Welcome to Young Women's TP. She loved it.

They corrupted Courtney! She turned into a wild little girl while we were there!!

On our way to lunch after I was "Saran Wrapped". Lovely.

Beautiful sky - Day 40

Courtney and Paige - Sloppy after eating Sloppy Joes

Late night dance party at the cabins.

Saturday Girls' Camp Pictures

Rebekah, Courtney & Addie on the hike

First Year Girls Hike

Getting ready for Skits! - Day 39 Picture

All of the Bishops in out stake singing "Twinkle Twinkle" to President Williams. Funny.

Playing Catch Up

I'm so behind on my blogging! I still have Girls' Camp pictures to post, and I'm way behind on my Picture of the Day!! So, you are going to find some very random postings. Mostly pictures with not a lot of words. Sorry. This blog is a record of my life, and I need to get caught up!! So, bear with me....

A Beautiful Lady

Here are a few pictures of my Grandma from way back when.

I love these pictures.

This is my Grandma & Grandpa Van Meir with their kids. My mom is in the front with Uncle Don to the left, and Uncle Ray to the right. My Grandpa is holding Aunt Moe and some other random little boy. I have no idea who the little boy is. I'll be checking into that.....

I love this picture of my Grandma. This is on the farm. Like I said before, she HATED it there. She certainly didn't dress like a farmer's wife!!!

My Beautiful Grandma.

Good-bye Nana....

My Grandma passed away tonight just after 8pm. I'm so thankful that she is no longer suffering. And it brings tears to my eyes at the thought of the reunion between her and my Uncle....and most especially, my Aunt Moe. My mom is coming home tomorrow. She has had the roughest couple of weeks that she has ever had to endure. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. And thanks for the thoughts and prayers that have already been offered on behalf of my family. I have the most amazing people in my life.

Things I loved about my Grandma:

Her love for shopping

Her love for the City of Chicago

Her pink TV in her kitchen

Her turquoise chairs in her living room

Her need to be completely "done up" before she left the house

Her scarves

Her clip-on earrings

Her spaghetti sauce

Her lasagna recipe

Her dislike for the "farm life", even though she married a "farmer"

Her love for my friends

Her voice

Her chubbiness

Her smell

Her fake fireplace

Her hugs

Her kisses

Her being my Nana

To Make You Smile....

This brought the hugest smile to my face!!!

So You Think You Can Dance

I'm a HUGE fan of this show. Unfortunately, due to my extremely boring life, my summer revolves around it. Last night, they showed the most touching dance I had ever seen. It was a dance about Breast Cancer. About a woman who has it and her friend who is supporting her through it. It was so beautiful. Needless to say, I cried. The Ugly Cry. It wasn't just the dance that did me in, it was the judges afterwards. I have that disease that if I see someone cry...I cry. And the judges were crying... a lot. I couldn't help myself. Anyway, here is the dance. Grab a kleenex.

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Found Them - Thanks Caitlin

Here are the pictures I wanted to post with my post from yesterday. No news yet today.

Me, my Mom & my Grandma. This was taken in the early '90's.

My Mom & Grandma in 2004. This was when my brother and I went back to see Grandma, knowing she wouldn't be with us much longer. That was 5 years ago. I think I get my stubborn streak from my Grandma. I also got my love for shopping and shoes from her.